Jute (Corchorus sp.) is one of the most important sources of natural fibre, covering ∼80% of global bast fibre production1. Only Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis are commercially cultivated, though there are more than 100 Corchorus species2 in the Malvaceae family. Here we describe high-quality draft genomes of these two species and their comparisons at the functional genomics level to support tailor-designed breeding. The assemblies cover 91.6% and 82.2% of the estimated genome sizes for C. olitorius and C. capsularis, respectively. In total, 37,031 C. olitorius and 30,096 C. capsularis genes are identified, and most of the genes are validated by cDNA and RNA-seq data. Analyses of clustered gene families and gene collinearity show that jute underwent shared whole-genome duplication ∼18.66 million years (Myr) ago prior to speciation. RNA expression analysis from isolated fibre cells reveals the key regulatory and structural genes involved in fibre formation. This work expands our understanding of the molecular basis of fibre formation laying the foundation for the genetic improvement of jute.

Correlation and path coefficients analyses among fourteen morphological characters were studied in six advanced lines of Basmati rice and one commercial check namely BRRI Dhan 29. In general, genotypic correlation coefficients were higher than the corresponding phenotypic correlation coefficients suggesting that the environmental influence reduces the relationship between yield and yield contributing characters of rice. Correlation coefficient analysis showed significant positive correlation between plant height and panicle length at genotypic level. Number of filled spikelets/panicle showed significant positive correlation with yield at both genotypic and phenotypic levels but significant negative correlation was observed between plant height and yield. Number of effective tillers/plant had negative significant correlation with panicle length and with number of unfilled spikelets/panicle at genotypic level. Number of ineffective tillers/plant had significant negative correlation with 1000-seed weight at both genotypic and phenotypic levels. Path coefficient analysis revealed highest positive direct effect of number of filled spikelets/panicle on grain yield but plant height and number of unfilled spikelets/panicle had negative direct effect on grain.

In this investigation, Gd and Mn co-doped Bi 0.85 Gd 0.15 Fe 1-x Mn x O 3 (x=0.0-0.15) nanoparticles have been prepared to report the influence of co-substitution on their structural, optical, magnetic and electrical properties. Due to simultaneous substitution of Gd and Mn in BiFeO 3 , the crystal structure has been modified from rhombohedral (R3c) to orthorhombic (Pn2 1 a) and the Fe-O-Fe bond angle and Fe-O bond length have been changed. For Mn doping up to 10% in Bi 0.85 Gd 0.15 Fe 1-x Mn x O 3 nanoparticles, the saturation magnetization (M s ) has been enhanced significantly, however, for a further increase of doping up to 15 %, the M s has started to reduce again. The co-substitution of Gd and Mn in BiFeO 3 nanoparticles also demonstrates a strong reduction in the optical band gap energy and electrical resistivity compared to that of undoped BiFeO 3 .

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Improvement in magnetic and electrical properties of multiferroic BiFeO3 in conjunction with their dependence on particle size is crucial due to its potential applications in multifunctional miniaturized devices. In this investigation, we report a study on particle size dependent structural, magnetic and electrical properties of sol-gel derived Bi0.9Ba0.1FeO3 nanoparticles of different sizes ranging from ∼ 12 to 49 nm. The substitution of Bi by Ba significantly suppresses oxygen vacancies, reduces leakage current density and Fe 2+ state. An improvement in both magnetic and electrical properties is observed for 10 % Ba-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles compared to its undoped counterpart. The saturation magnetization of Bi0.9Ba0.1FeO3 nanoparticles increase with reducing particle size in contrast with a decreasing trend of ferroelectric polarization. Moreover, a first order metamagnetic transition is noticed for ∼ 49 nm Bi0.9Ba0.1FeO3 nanoparticles which disappeared with decreasing particle size. The observed strong size dependent multiferroic properties are attributed to the complex interaction between vacancy induced crystallographic defects, multiple valence states of Fe, uncompensated surface spins, crystallographic distortion and suppression of spiral spin cycloid of BiFeO3.